A wildflower meadow in Terryland Forest Park is to be created by conservation volunteers this weekend.
Working with the Galway City Council parks division, the volunteers are undertaking this ambitious environmental project on Saturday, and interested Galwegians are invited to take part.
A spokesperson for the volunteers says meadows were once a defining feature of Ireland.
"Bringing beauty, colour and a rich biodiversity to our countryside, these traditional hay fields were populated by a diverse range of wildflowers such as clover, buttercup, bird’s-foot trefoil and ragged robin, providing an important home for bees, butterflies and other pollinators," he says.
"However urbanisation, the use of chemical fertilisers and intensive monoculture farming have eliminated much of these traditional grasslands, leading to a collapse in the numbers of native non-woody plants and a corresponding decrease in the insect populations that fed off them as well as on the rest of the interlinked organisms of these habitats such as birds and mammals. “
Outdoor classroom
Surveys show Britain has lost more than 97 per cent of its meadow habitat since World War Two, and a similar situation probably occurs here, although there are no national statistics.
The project will be supervised by well-known horticulturalist Padraic Keirns, and it is expected the meadow will form part of the outdoor classroom ethos of the Terryland Forest Park which aims to provide an outdoor scientific learning environment for schools and colleges.
Anyone interested in taking part in this important ecological project should assemble at 10am on Saturday August 29 at the Quincentennnial Bridge entrance to Terryland Forest Park.
